By KATHRYN BERMINGHAM
RESIDENTS along the South Gippsland Highway are calling on the government to fund an upgrade to the road, making it dual lane.
A tragic Easter Monday fatality on the road prompted Krystal Clark and Laura Ellett to create a Facebook page, ‘South Gippsland Highway should be a dual lane road for safety.’
The page states its aim is “to see how many people agree that the South Gippsland Highway between Lang Lang and Leongatha should be a dual lane road for safety”, and has become a forum for drivers to voice support for the project.
Gaining 750 likes within its first 30 hours, the two women were overwhelmed by the number of residents who agreed.
“I would say there have been around 500 accidents in the last four years. It’s time us to do something,” Krystal said last week.
A volunteer at the Poowong CFA, Krystal said the road was particularly problematic during holiday periods.
“It’s chaos. The road is getting busier and busier, and something needs to be done before more accidents happen.”
Laura’s connection to the cause is more personal, her sister was involved in an accident earlier this year.
“I saw Laura’s post on Facebook about her sister’s accident which happened in a driveway.
“I just think something really needs to change.”
She said adding extra lanes to the highway would help ease congestion and would cater for the growing numbers of trucks using the road.
“It’s a growing area, and we need to see the road grow with it,” she said.
“Obviously, the highway is problem for many people in this area.”
